The administratively determined minimum wage is revised whenever the cost-of-living index rises 2 percentage points. This year it was $8.98 (7.19 euros) per hour. This wage represented the maximum rate of a multi-step minimum wage scale, which was created to reduce the burden of the 35-hour workweek for small and medium-sized companies. The minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

The Government raised the annual overtime ceiling from 130 to a maximum of 180 hours (depending on the employment sector); the plan allowed a de facto return to the 39-hour workweek from the 35-hour workweek that had been in effect since 2001.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, and Solidarity has overall responsibility for policing occupational health and safety laws. Standards were high and effectively enforced. The law requires each enterprise with 50 or more employees to establish an occupational health and safety committee. Over 75 percent of all enterprises, covering more than 75 percent of all employees, have fully functioning health and safety committees. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations.